A modular wireless diagnosis, testing and information system for a motor vehicle is described in European Patent No. EP 0 754 940 B1.
European Patent No. EP 1 181 521 B1 describes a diagnostic test device for motor vehicles having programmable control units.
German Patent Application No. DE 10 2008 042 024 A1 describes an optical axle-measuring device for motor vehicles.
The technical advances in automotive testing technology have produced a multitude of specific test devices for individual vehicle domains. Measuring, control and regulation technologies adapted to the particular domain, which constitute the core of the specific test devices, have been developed in this context. Pertinent examples are brake test stations, engine testers, chassis-measuring test devices, exhaust-gas testers, test lanes and climate control service devices.
Currently, most functions in the vehicle are assumed by electronic control units, either in part or completely. In addition, the control units in the vehicle also assume various onboard diagnostic functions of the vehicle systems in order to subsequently make the diagnostic functions available to the service facility.
To allow an effective utilization of these control-unit diagnostic functions in the service facility, more and more universal diagnostic testers, which span vehicle domains and allow a communication with the control units installed inside the vehicle, have been developed over the past few years.
The functionality of this communication may differ considerably; for example, it may relate to the readout of stored error codes, the transmission of actual values, the implementation of complex actuator tests, the resetting of service intervals, the calibration of vehicle sensors and the training of spare parts that have been installed.
Integrated in such universal diagnostic testers is a module which provides the vehicle communication function, commonly referred to as VCI (vehicle communication interface).
However, there are also examples in which the VCI is installed in a separate housing (VCI module) and connected to a universal operating and display device such as a laptop, via cable or in wireless manner. The function of the universal diagnostic tester is then ensured by corresponding diagnostic software on the laptop, which, as a minimum, encompasses an operating device and a display, a diagnosis sequence control as well as the required communication with the control units in the vehicle via the connected VCI module.
The developments in the vehicle manufacture increasingly require the shared utilization of a universal diagnostic tester and of different test devices at the individual work station in the service facilities.
One pertinent example is the chassis measuring device, with whose aid the zero point position of the steering angle sensor is recalibrated after the adjustment of the vehicle geometry has been concluded. Another example is the climate control service device, where the focus is on checking for errors possibly stored in the climate control unit, in order to be able to provide comprehensive servicing of the climate control system. A still further example is the engine tester, in which case actual values of control units are acquired in parallel in order to supply the expert with comprehensive information for the error diagnosis.
Two separate devices are thus used in all of these examples, i.e., the universal diagnostic tester and the individual testing device, which are utilized sequentially, one after the other.
To improve the handling of such duplex systems, engine test devices also adopt approaches in which the results of the engine tests and the results of the control unit communication are displayed on two adjacently situated monitors.
The use of a universal diagnostic tester in conjunction with a separate additional specific test device requires skilled personnel experienced in the use of the diverse diagnosis functionality spanning vehicle domains. It may therefore be necessary to use two technicians for one vehicle simultaneously, which, however, is inefficient and increases costs. The separate operation of a test device and a diagnostic tester may cause manual errors in the data input into the individual devices. The test sequences of the two devices are not linked, so that only manual monitoring is possible, which may cause operator errors, e.g., a faulty adjustment of vehicle sensors.
Using the example of the steering angle sensor, for instance, the calibration of the ESP control unit via the diagnostic tester may be carried out incorrectly if a technician accidentally moves the steering wheel of the vehicle after the chassis adjustment has been concluded and before the sensor calibration by the diagnostic tester has been completed.